A cash usage continues to dwindle, with more than half of Brits now using mobile wallets for online and contactless payments.
According to UK Finance figures, mobile wallet adoption surged from 42% of UK adults in 2023 to 57% in 2024. Those who register for a mobile wallet service quickly become regular users, preferring their handsets over cards. Among mobile payment users, half engage in monthly transactions, and 44% do so weekly or more. While younger individuals lead the adoption with 88% of 16-24-year-olds using mobile wallets, there’s also significant growth among those aged 65 and over, with registration jumping from 14% in 2023 to 25% in 2024.
Mobile banking has become the most common method for accessing accounts in 2024, utilized by 75% of UK adults, surpassing desktop banking for the first time.
Cards, both physical and mobile, represented the most widely used payment method in the UK last year, accounting for 64% of all transactions. Debit cards led with 26.1 billion payments—up 6% from 2023—while credit and charge card usage increased slightly from 4.9 to 5 billion payments. Consumers made 18.9 billion contactless card payments in 2024, primarily with debit cards.
In contrast, cash was used for 4.4 billion payments, down from 6 billion in 2023, marking the first time cash accounted for less than 10% of all payments. Additionally, a quarter of Brits utilized Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) services, up from 14% in 2023, with younger adults being the most frequent users.
Overall, the total number of payments made in the UK last year reached 48.6 billion, a 1.5% increase. Consumers were responsible for 84% of these transactions, while businesses, government, and non-profit organizations made up the remaining 16%.
Adrian Buckle, head of research at UK Finance, stated, “2024 was a year of firsts, all pointing to the growing shift towards digital payments—more than half of UK adults used mobile wallets, mobile banking surpassed desktop access, and cash usage fell below 10% of all payments.”